Israel Attacks Syria in Retaliation for Missile Launched from Other Side Lands in the Golan Heights
Two rockets launched from Syria crashed into area under Israeli control, prompting the Israeli army to declare early on Saturday that it was conducting attacks in the nation.
“A short while ago, two launches that were identified crossing from Syria fell in an open area following the report regarding sirens sounding in northern Israel,” the army said.
It continued, “The IDF (military) is striking the sources of fire.”
The Israeli army told AFP that the missiles it had launched were indeed rockets, although it withheld the exact site of their fall.
The Golan Heights, which Israel annexed, is seen as belonging to its northern area.
According to the Syrian Defense Ministry and official media, an Israeli attack on Thursday was directed against the region around Damascus, the capital of Syria.
Israel is reticent to discuss specific assaults on Syria, but it has made it clear that it would not let its bitter enemy Iran—which supports President Bashar al-Assad’s administration—to increase its influence there.
Since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Israel has conducted hundreds of airstrikes on its northern neighbor, mostly hitting areas held by the Syrian army and forces supported by Iran, such as Lebanese Hezbollah militants.
As tensions grow across the Middle East, there have also been many gunfights between the Israeli army and Hezbollah along the Israeli-Lebanese border since the commencement of the conflict between Israel and Hamas on October 7.
According to an AFP tally, such confrontations have claimed the lives of over 150 individuals on the Lebanese side of the border, mostly Hezbollah members but also more than 20 civilians, including three journalists.
According to army data, there have been nine troops and at least four civilian deaths on the Israeli side.
The fighting has mostly stayed along the border, but Israel has threatened to further up its military assault if Hezbollah militants do not retreat.
